Lake
Macquarie NSW, Australiacityoflakemaquarie.com
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Lake Macquarie is Australia's largest coastal saltwater lake, covering an area of 110 square kilometres (42.5 sq mi) in the Hunter Region of New South Wales with most of the City of Lake Macquarie's residents living near its shores. It is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Lake Macquarie is twice as large as Sydney Harbour and is the largest salt water lake in the southern hemisphere. However, it is slightly smaller than Port Stephens, which is about 43 kilometres (27 mi) to the northeast of the lake.
The City of Lake Macquarie has an estimated population of 189,150 as of June 2003 (Australian Bureau of Statistics) and is the fourth or fifth largest Local Government Area in NSW by population (three of the largest, Sutherland, Blacktown, and Fairfield, are all within metropolitan Sydney). Its population is much larger than that of the City of Newcastle and similar to that of the City of Wollongong. One of its major tourist attractions is its lake, also named Lake Macquarie.
Lake Macquarie is classified as a "city", but there is no significant distinction between the terms "city", "shire", and "municipality" as applied to Local Government Areas in New South Wales. The area is demographically a set of closely contiguous towns that surround a coastal saltwater lake, and merge with the suburbs of Newcastle to the north. Some suburbs, such as Adamstown Heights are partly in the City of Newcastle and partly within the City of Lake Macquarie. GeographyThe lake is of irregular shape and the land separating it from the ocean is only a few kilometres wide along most of its length. While there are a several small islands in the lake, some of which are grouped near the mouth, the only notable island is Pulbah Island, which is located in the southern part of the lake south of Swansea. Pulbah is a popular camping spot.
The lake is connected to the sea by Swansea Channel and Lakes Entrance. Swansea Channel is approximately 380 metres (1,247 ft) wide and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). It joins Lakes Entrance, a small bay measuring approximately 900 m (2,953 ft) wide by 2.2 km (1.4 mi) at the Swansea bridges. The bridges can lift to allow yachts and other larger pleasure craft into and out of the lake.
There is no point on the coast from which the entire expanse of the lake and its 167 km (104 mi) foreshore may be seen. However, a good view can be obtained from lookouts in the nearby Watagan Mountains.
Significant population centres include:
HistoryLake Macquarie was discovered in 1800 by Captain William Reid, who been sent from Sydney to retrieve a load of coal from Newcastle Harbour. Reid took a wrong turn and found himself in a lake rather than a river, with no coal to be seen anywhere. The name "Reid's Mistake" was retained until 1826, when it was renamed in honour of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. The Aboriginal name was Awaba, which means "a plain surface". DemographicsAccording to the Australian Bureau Statistics, there:
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